Launch of hybrid car carrier “Emerald Ace”
The 199m-long and 32.26m-wide “Emerald Ace“ will have capacity for 6,400 vehicles (standard passenger cars)
The vessel was designated as a project to reduce CO2 emissions from ocean-going vessels, and earned MOL a subsidy from Japan's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism in 2009.
The “Emerald Ace” is scheduled for delivery in June 2012 and is said to be the world’s first newly delivered hybrid car carrier. The vessel’s hybrid system is a significant step forward in realising ISHIN-I, the concept for the next-generation car carrier that MOL announced in September 2009.
The car carrier will be equipped with a hybrid electric power supply system that combines a 160 kW solar generation system with lithium-ion batteries that can store 2.2 MWh of electricity. Conventional power generation systems use diesel-powered generators to supply electricity on board while berthed. On the “Emerald Ace” electricity will be generated by the solar power generation system while the vessel is under way and stored in the lithium-ion batteries. The diesel-powered generator will be completely shut down when the ship is in berth, and the batteries will provide all the electricity it needs, resulting in zero emissions at the pier, according to MOL.
